Visitor dies at AIIMS, relatives cry negligence

The 30-year-old woman died inside the AIIMS premises after a brick fell on her head from the eighth floor.

In a freak accident, a 30-year-old woman died inside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) premises, after a brick fell on her head from the eighth floor of building under construction near the New Emergency Ward.

The deceased has been identified as Bindu, had come to visit her nephew, who is recovering from dengue in the hospital.

While she was passing near the building, which is behind the casualty ward, a brick fell on her head and she fainted on the spot. Her relatives rushed her to emergency block, where doctors allegedly refused to admit her.

She was allegedly refused admission and referred to Safdarjung hospital. Her relatives protested and insisted that she be treated immediately. This meant crucial time being lost. By the time, doctors agreed to treat her, Bindu had succumbed to her injuries.

Police have registered a case of death due to negligence but no arrests have been made so far. Bindu was accompanied by her husband, Sanjay. Both had come from Meethapur, Badarpur, as their nephew had been admitted in AIIMS for the last few days.

"We have registered a case of negligence but no one has been named in the FIR. We are inquiring into the incident to fix responsibility. The police is trying to find out the contractor who was in-charge of the building under construction," said a senior police officer.

"The woman had come to visit a patient. She was standing behind the Casualty where a building is under construction. There are monkeys on the terrace and it appears they dropped a brick. This woman was, unfortunately, injured fatally in the incident. We have put boards around the building instructing people to not stand there," said a senior faculty member.
The blame game has begun as the doctors hold the engineering department responsible for the incident.

Doctors deny the allegation that the injured woman was refused admission by the Chief Medical Officer on duty.

"Doctors who were present there maintain that the woman had no sign of life when she was brought to the Casualty. It is true that the woman was referred to Safdarjang Hospital. That is because our institute is prioritizing dengue patients. When the CMO was informed that the incident occurred inside AIIMS premises, she was admitted," said Dr Anil Sharma, Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) spokesperson.